Christoph Willibald Gluck - Ezio

"Christoph Gluck's fame as an operatic reformer has overshadowed the fact that prior to the 1760s he was a highly successful composer of 'opera seria', a spectacle centred on virtuosic solo singing for which the da capo aria was considered the ideal vehicle. In the prevailing Italian operatic system the libretto typically contained dozens of aria texts (with the occasional duet), and these illuminated the characters' successive emotional states in response to the drama, which was carried forward in simple recitatives alternating with arias. When Gluck and his collaborator Ranieri de' Calzabigi abandoned this operatic model in favour of a more naturalistic presentation of the action, beginning with 'Orfeo ed Euridice' (1762), spectators had to fundamentally alter their mode of listening. The current revival of Gluck's pre-reform operas requires an equivalent adjustment, in reverse.

"Gluck's early preference for texts by the Roman Pietro Metastasio indicates not so much conservatism as the simple fact that Metastasio was the 'opera seria' librettist most adept at constructing a plot (typically based on ancient Greek or Roman history) and most admired for his elegant and musically effective aria texts: his poetic images frequently involved similes or metaphors conducive to musical illustration, which endeared him to singers and composers alike. His concentration on arias, to the near exclusion of ensembles and choruses, was a consequence of entrepreneurial opera companies' lack of choral singers, the star power of soloists, and audience preferences. In addition, the highly paid 'prime donne' and 'primi uomini' frequently dictated terms to composers, requiring that they tailor arias to their voices and talents.

"It was typical of 'opera seria' that the same libretto was often set to music several times over, even by the same composer. Gluck set 'Ezio' for Prague's Teatro Nuovo in 1750 and revised it substantially for Vienna's Burgtheater in 1763; Niccolò Jommelli set the libretto four times across three decades. Listening to opera thus involved a good deal of comparison, not only between settings of the same libretto but also between one performance and the next of the same opera, since singers embellished or otherwise varied their arias afresh each night, in part for the sake of spectators attending multiple performances. Even for a work as unfamiliar as Gluck's 'Ezio', modern listeners have ready points of comparison in Handel's 1732 setting for London and in the nine-year-old Mozart's setting of Massimo's aria 'Va' dal furor portata' (likewise written in London).

"'Ezio' is from the early part of Metastasio's career, written before his 1729 appointment as imperial court poet in Vienna. The basic elements of the plot are factual, drawn from ancient sources that the poet duly cites (the Metastasio scholar Don Neville has also pointed to Thomas Corneille's play 'Maximian' of 1662 as a probable, though unacknowledged, source). 'Ezio' is set in Rome, following the defeat of Attila the Hun; the adulation with which the victorious general Ezio (Aetius) is greeted upon his return arouses the envy of the emperor Valentiniano (Valentinian) III, formented also by the patrician Massimo (Maximus), who bears the emperor an ancient grudge. Onto this premise Metastasio grafted an amorous intrigue involved, additionally, Massimo's daughter Fulvia, the emperor's sister Onoria, and Ezio's friend Varo. Unlike the real-life Aetius, whom the emperor put to death, the fictional general is exonerated, in keeping with 'opera seria's obligatory 'lieto fine'. All the characters in 'Ezio' are flawed to some degree: Valentiniano is fundamentally virtuous, but cowardly and credulous; Ezio is courageous, but proud and incautious, Fulvia is loyal to her father even in support of his criminal conspiracy. Massimo is most obviously evil, but his complaint against the emperor, which spurs his misdeeds, is just. Metastasio himself recognised that he had depicted Valentiniano unflatteringly: writing in 1770 of a plan to dedicate a performance of 'Ezio' to the Hapsburg Emperor Joseph II, he asked 'why on earth... did they not prefer my 'Tito' to 'Ezio', in which the emperor is the third- or fourth-ranked role and of a rather uncommendable character?'.

"The libretto was commissioned by the Venetian Teatro Grimani di San Giovanni Grisostomo for its autumn 1728 season; Metastasio alluded to the venue by putting into Ezio's mouth flattering remarks about the nascent city of Venice. The music of the first setting was by the Neapolitan Nicola Porpora (later a teacher of the young Haydn), and the cast included the famed Neapolitan castratos Domenico Gizzi (Valentiniano) and Nicola Grimaldi (Ezio). The next production, with music by Pietro Auletta, was the for the 1728/9 carnival season in Rome, where by papal decree women were not permitted on the stage; the female roles were therefore taken by castratos. Conversely, in several early productions, including Handel's 1732 setting for London, the role of Valentiniano was taken by the female contralto Anna Bagnolesi. As with many Metastasian librettos, in productions of 'Ezio' subsequent to the first one the recitatives were abridged - in the 1732 London production, nearly to the point of incomprehensibility. In 1754 Metastasio himself shortened his text for the Portuguese court and was duly rewarded with a lavish silver service. Much later, Metastasio thanked the poetry Saverio Mattei for the judicious cuts he had made for a 1771 Naples production, also approving his substitution of a quartet for several arias at the end of Act Two, 'something that would have been sacrilege when I wrote [the drama]'.

"At the time Gluck wrote 'Ezio' he was still an itinerant composer, not yet settled in Vienna. His career had begun in Hapsburg-controlled Milan, where he had trained un Giovanni Battista Sammartini, and had included a stint in London. By 1747 he had joined the traveling opera troupe of Pietro Mingotti, composing an opera for a Saxon royal wedding at Pillnitz outside Dresden. Recommendations from there and from the Lombard court resulted in a prestigious commission in 1748 to set Metastasio's 'Semiramide riconosciuta' for Vienna's Burgtheater. By November of that year Gluck had rejoined Mingotti's company (now as musical director) in Copenhagen, where he wrote the celebratory opera 'La contesa dei numi', performed in April 1749. The next we hear of him is at the start of 1750 in Prague, the city where he had attended university and worked as an organist nearly two decades earlier, and where Giovanni Battista Locatelli was in his second season as head of the resident Italian opera company in the city's Kotzentheater, or Teatro Nuovo. Of the singers in the cast of 'Ezio', the tenors Settimio Canini (Massimo) and Franz Werner (Varo) had both sung in Mingotti's troupe, the former taking roles in three of Gluck's operas. Elisabetta Ronchetti, a singer of both Metastasian and comic roles, would reprise her performance as Fulvia in a 1751 Leipzig production of the opera. The Valentiniano, Antonio Francia, ended his career in Siena in 1775 with the same roles (in Gugliemi's setting); for Nicola Reginelli (Ezio) this was already his final season.

"The success of Gluck's opera is suggested by his many later borrowings from its music, and by the presence of more than a dozen Latin parodies (retextings) of its arias in the archives of Prague churches (a notated cadenza from a parody of Valentiniano's first aria is used in this recording, with slight modifications). The cuts in the libretto of the Prague 'Ezio' were sensible ones and included remarks denigrating to women, most likely removed on account of the libretto's dedication to the women of the Prague audience. Possibly inspired by the still novel phenomenon of ensemble finales in 'opera buffa', Gluck replaced three arias at the end of Act Two with a terzetto. Some further cuts have been made to make the present performance more attractive to a modern audience.

"In composing 'Ezio' Gluck was guided above all by the sense of the arias' texts, though not always in ways Metastasio would have approved. In 1751, after Gluck's move to Vienna, Metastasio declared the composer had 'un fuoco meraviglioso, ma pazza' ('has surprising fire, but is mad', in Charles Burney's 1796 translation). Throughout his career Gluck showed a willingness to trespass against the rules of part-writing and harmony in the interest of vivid characterisations and drama.

"After an italianate 'Sinfonia' in three movements (with attractive chromaticism in the minor-mode slow movement) Ezio enters to a triumphal march. Valentiniano's ensuing 'Se tu la reggi al volo' is everything one might with for in an opera's initial aria: energetic, virtuosic, and well calculated to the text - as with several 'messe di voce' (elegantly modulated sustained tones) on 'sempre' ('always'). In its shape the vocal line suggests first the eagle of the text being launched into flight, then its return (with a rising-and-falling figure, echoed in the accompaniment). The march having established his heroism, Ezio uses his initial aria, 'Pensa serbarmi, o cara', to assure his beloved of his affection, with sighing figures in the accompaniment and a caressing vocal melisma on 'amami' ('love me'). Fulvia, for whome Metastasio and Gluck had reserved an act-ending showpiece, first sings a submissive-sounding, minor-mode 'aria parlante', 'Caro padre, a me non dei', in which a typically Gluckian slowing to Adagio highlights her key phrase 'io lo so' ('I know it').

"Incongruously, the villain Massimo has the most ravishing number in the opera, 'Se povero il ruscello', the many-layered texture of which depicts, alternately, lazily and rapidly flowing waters and their respective ability to overcome obstacles. As adapted by Gluck in 'Orfeo', this same music would depict Orfeo's impressions of the Elysian Fields; its unexpected excursions into the minor mode would remain a favourite tool in Gluck's expressive arsenal. The following number, Valentiniano's 'So chi t'accese', is a declamatory air in the service of the drama, in which Gluck abandons both opening ritornello and da capo form. In the subsequent 'Se fedele mi brama il regnate', Ezio's indignation is manifest in the tightly wound energy of its accompaniment, coloratura displays and the harmony's turns toward the minor. Particularly effective is the menacing rhetorical pause in the music during his reproach 'If my sovereign would have my loyalty, [-] let him not wound my loving soul', midway through the aria's main section.

"The aria 'Ancor non premi il soglio' eschews vocal display, but is virtuosic in its manipulations of emotional tone as Onoria mocks her rival Fulvia's supposed pretensions through constant tempo changes, text repetition and a cleverly recomposed reprise of the opening section. But Fulvia prevails, musically, with her spacious and vocally ambitious 'Finché un zefiro soave', which illustrates her confidence that she will be able to navigate whatever storms come her way.

"Act Two opens with news of a failed attempt on Valentiniano's life, prompting his aria 'Dubbioso amante' (addressed alternately to Massimo and Fulvia) which cleverly reworks the content of Metastasio's original text so as to fit music borrowed from 'La contesa dei numi'. The emperor's doubtful words are a good match for the piece's off-balance main rhythmic motif and minor-mode colouration. They also provoke recriminations between his onstage auditors, which culminate in Massimo's aria 'Va' dal furor portata' ('Go, transported by your fury'), whose opening melody and fiery accompaniment vividly depict Fulvia's rage. Gluck repeatedly halts the musical discourse at Massimo's admonishments 'ti sovvenga' ('remember') and 'pensa' ('reflect').

"Ezio's reaction to his arrest, 'Recagli quell'acciaro', is realistically direct and a testimony to his fortitude. Particularly striking, in Gluck's setting, are the sinking chromatic lines that suggest Valentiniano's shame when reminded of his general's past services. Varo's subsequent aria, 'Nasce al bosco in rozza cuna' (another retexting of a piece from 'La contesa dei numi'), is of slight importance to the drama, but delightful nontheless, with lilting rhythms and sustained trills that highlight its pastoral theme. Ezio's next appearance, by contrast, is dramatically crucial. Fulvia finds that she can no longer sustain her pretence of loving Valentiniano (a ruse to deflect suspicion from Ezio) and admits that Ezio is her only love; in an exultant, accompanied recitative Ezio now claims a moral victory over Valentiniano, even as he is returned to prison. In the following aria, 'Ecco alle mie catene', chains of suspensions represent Ezio's physical chains; thereafter he addresses himself alternately to Fulvia (with a melody of heartfelt simplicity) and to the emperor (in a quicker tempo and with taunting horn calls). During the aria's ample middle section Gluck introduces a rising triplet motif that suggests Ezio's beseeching gestures toward his beloved. As he is led off, Fulvia is left to face the disdain of both the emperor and her father in the terzetto 'Passami il cor, tiranno', during which the violins play a relentless flagellating figure. The singers can only unite on the thought that this is a terrible day for all of them; during these passages 'a 3' Valentiniano's and Fulvia's vocal lines are several times left completely exposed, to powerful effect.

"In 'Peni tu per un'ingrata' near the start of Act Three, Onoria consoles herself and Valentiniano with the thought that neither is alone in disappointing love. Characters quickly accumulate on stage and Valentiniano makes a show of pardoning Ezio, though secretly planning to have him killed. Ezio's grateful reply, in the aria 'Per la memoria', uses existing music from 'La contesa dei numi' but still strikes a properly noble tone, even evoking 'memory' with its conspicuous echoing between instruments. Ezio's six-bar 'messa di voce' on 'dono' ('gift') suggests that long tones were a particular skill of the original Ezio, Nicola Reginelli.

"Valentiniano's 'Per tutto il timore' corroborates Metastasio's admission that the emperor cuts no fine figure in this opera. In this 'aria parlante' Valentiniano's unmanly fear is portrayed both in a persistent tremulous figure in the melody and in repeated harmonic twinges as he declares 'I would rather die than live like this'. Conversely, the conniving Massimo sounds convincingly sympathetic in the aria he addresses to Fulvia, 'Tergi le ingiuste lagrime', holding out as compensation for her sacrifice the promise that she will reign as Valentiniano's consort. Evocations of teardrops alternate with regal dotted rhythms in the orchestral accompaniment, as called for in the text.

"Left alone, Fulvia indulges her despair in a scene of uncommon expressive force. Tremolo strings underline her invocation of furies and of Greek tragedy in an accompanied recitative; in the aria proper, 'Ah, non son io che parlo', her breathless declamation and the fragmentary accompaniment look forward to Dorabella's 'Smanie implacabili' in Mozart's 'Così fan tutte' (where the tone is openly parodistic). Other features, too, contribute to the impression that Fulvia is unhinged: above all, her irregular phrase lengths and slowed-down declamation during repetitions of her phrase 'che delirar mi fa' ('that maddens me'), and the horns' obsessive, oracular-sounding intonations on the fifth scale degree. Following the presumed-dead Ezio's almost miraculous reappearance (thanks to Varo's deception), Valentiniano pardons even Massimo, and all unite to sing a final chorus, 'Della vita nel dubbio cammino'. Far from being perfunctory, Gluck's ensemble exhibits an impressively complex construction, with solo lines emerging from the texture to illustrate the motto that 'Innocence is that star of Heaven that guides us on our shadowy path'. (Bruce Alan Brown, 2011. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Il Complesso Barocco, Alan Curtis, Sonia Prina, Max Emanuel Cencic, Ann Hallenburg, Topi Lehtipuu, Mayuko Karasawa, Julian Prégardien

1.1. Sinfonia: Allegro

1.2. Sinfonia: Andante

1.3. Sinfonia: Allegro Di Molto

1.4. Marcia

1.5. Atto I, Scena I: 'Signor, Vincemmo. Il Primo Io Sono'

1.6. Atto I, Scena I: 'Se Tu La Reggi Al Volo'

1.7. Atto I, Scena II: 'Ezio, Lascia Ch'io Stringa'

1.8. Atto I, Scena II: 'Pensa A Serbarmi, O Cara'

1.9. Atto I, Scena III: 'E Soffrirai Che Sposa Abbia La Figlia'

1.10. Atto I, Scena III: 'Caro Padre, A Me Non Dei'

1.11. Atto I, Scena IV: 'Pria Che Sorga L'aurora'

1.12. Atto I, Scena V: 'Ezio Sappia Ch'io Bramo Seco Parlar'

1.13. Atto I, Scena V: 'Se Povero Il Ruscello'

1.14. Atto I, Scena VI: 'Del Ciel Felice Dono'

1.15. Atto I, Scena VI: 'So Chi T'accese'

1.16. Atto I, Scena VII: 'Vedrem Se Ardisce Ancora'/Scena VIII: 'Fulvia, Ti Vuol Sua Sposa'

1.17. Atto I, Scena VIII: 'Se Fedele Mi Brama Il Regnante'

1.18. Atto I, Scena IX: 'A Cesare Nascondi'

1.19. Atto I, Scena IX: 'Ancor Non Premi Il Soglio'

1.20. Atto I, Scena X: 'Via, Per Mio Danno Aduna, O Barbara Fortuna'

1.21. Atto I, Scena X: 'Finché Un Zefiro Soave'

2.1. Atto II, Scena I: 'Qual Silenzio È Mai Questo!'/Scena II: 'Ogni Via Custodite, Ed Ogni Ingresso'/Scena III: 'Cesare, Invano Il Traditor Cercai'

2.2. Atto II, Scena III: 'Dubbioso Amante Cercando Aita'

2.3. Atto II, Scena IV: 'E Puoi D'un Tuo Delitto'

2.4. Atto II, Scena IV: 'Va' Dal Furor Portata'

2.5. Atto II, Scena V: 'Che Fo? Dove Mi Volgo?'/Scena VI: 'Varo, Che Rechi?'

2.6. Atto II, Scena VI: 'Recagli Quell'acciaro'

2.7. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Folle È Colui Che Al Tuo Favor Si Fida'

2.8. Atto II, Scena VII: 'Nasce Al Bosco In Rozza Cuna'

2.9. Atto II, Scena VIII: 'Olà, Qui Si Conduca Il Prigionier'/Scena IX: 'Stelle, Che Miro! Donna Infedel!'

2.10. Atto II, Scena IX: 'Ecco Ale Mie Catene'

2.11. Atto II, Scena X: 'Ingratissima Donna!'

2.12. Atto II, Scena X: 'Passami Il Cor, Tiranno!'

2.13. Atto III, Scena I: 'E Ben, Da Quel Superbo Che Ottenesti, O Germana?'

2.14. Atto III, Scena I: 'Peni Tu Per Un'ingrata'

2.15. Atto III, Scena II: 'Olà, Varo Si Chiami'/Scena III: 'Signor, Tutto Sedai'/Scena IV: 'Vedi Qual Dono'

2.16. Atto III, Scena IV: 'Per La Memoria Del Tuo Perdono'

2.17. Atto III, Scena V: 'Generoso Monarca, Il Ciel Ti Renda'/Scena VI: 'Varo, Eseguisti Il Cenno?'/Scena VII: 'Liete Novelle, Augusto'/Scena VIII: 'Massimo, Se Innocente Sei, Pensa A Provarlo'

2.18. Atto III, Scena VIII: 'Per Tutto Il Timore Perigli M'addita'

2.19. Atto III, Scena IX: 'Partì Una Volta. Ah Lascia, Mia Speme, Mio Sostegno'

2.20. Atto III, Scena IX: 'Tergi L'inguiste Lagrime'

2.21. Atto III, Scena X: 'Misera Dove Son! L'aure Del Tebro Son Queste Ch'io Respiro?'

2.22. Atto III, Scena X: 'Ah, Non Son Io Che Parlo'

2.23. Atto III, Scena XI: 'Inorridisci, O Roma'/Scena XII: 'Ah Traditori!'/Scena XIII: 'Cesare Viva. Ezio!'

2.24. Atto III, Scena XIII: 'Della Vita Nel Dubbio Cammino'

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